Clearing leaves from the lawn

MrsAtobe

Hoping for some advice, we have a back garden which is currently all lawn,100 sq m plus, and the other side of our boundary is a deciduous tree lined cycle path. Obviously this is lovely in summer, not so nice now!

What's the quickest/easiest way to clear the leaves up? I've just tried with a rake, and my technique with it seems to be sadly lacking, probably due to lack of practice .:p. Would a besom broom be any easier? Or should I invest in a leaf blower, and can they be used when the leaves are wet?

Thanks in anticipation.

I_have_spoken

I have an electric leaf blower which can suck up and mulch the leaves when wet, but it's an awfully heavy awkward thing to carry about but is handy for under hedges etc.

Have to tried the mower with the blades set as high as they'll go?

MrsAtobe

Thanks, we haven't yet, but one of the reasons I want to clear the leaves is so that I can see the dog's 'deposits' more easily. I'm not sure the OH would agree to using the mower when I couldn't guarantee a deposit free lawn...

We've got mushrooms coming up as well, so the soil obviously has enough nutrients, I just wish I knew if they were edible.

BornAtTheRightTime

For leaves on the grass, the mower will pick them up easily. Put it on a high cut setting. Or use a lawn rake with flexible head - the broad plastic ones work well, and rake across the top of the grass - don't try to 'dig down'.

Mojisola

We run the mower over the lawn - the leaves get chopped up small and are taken down into the soil by the worms and so improve the fertility of the soil.

If you have a mower with a box, you have the option of collecting the leaves and making leaf mould.

MrsAtobe

BornAtTheRightTime wrote: »

For leaves on the grass, the mower will pick them up easily. Put it on a high cut setting. Or use a lawn rake with flexible head - the broad plastic ones work well, and rake across the top of the grass - don't try to 'dig down'.

Thanks, I'll try one of the plastic ones, I was using a wire one earlier, which is possibly why I didn't have much success. We've got mushrooms growing too, hopefully it would deal with them too. Shame I can't take them to a pharmacist
Iike you can in France, to find out if they are edible or not.

aj9648

Can you leave the leaves on the lawn - will they just decompose into the lawn? We have a couple of acer trees which are shredding leaves. Onto the garden patio and also onto the soil and lawn.

Leave it or clean it up ??

MrsAtobe

Unfortunately, as said earlier, the dog's 'deposits' aren't easy to spot in amongst the leaves, hence the need for some tidying up. I managed to get a plastic rake this week and the majority of the leaves were collected up. It was so much easier with the plastic rake, I managed to do the entire lawn in the same time it took me to do a third of it with the wire tined one last week.

TBH, given that we have mushrooms popping up through the turf, I'm not sure if the lawn needs any more fertiliser? I know that autumn fertiliser is different to summer fertiliser, though.

WTFH

I have a Stihl Kombi, so I use it to strim, rotovate and blow.
It only blows, no suction/collection/etc. Does a great job with wet or dry leaves on lawns, paths & drives.
Not cheap, but effective.

With regards to the mushrooms, post some photos and we might be able to identify them.

TonyMMM

Wire tined lawn rakes are for scarifying/dethatching the surface - useless for picking up leaves.

I always just use the mower set on high.

cyclonebri1

Forget the leaf blower/sucker, their capacity is far too low. You will be forever emptying the bag.

You have already tried the best method, the rake. I honestly suggest you persist and regain your expertise.

Look at it from this point of view;

It's free, you have a rake, it really is quickest if you put some effort in and above all, you get healthy exercise plus a compost bin full of raw material.


Footnote, yes I have a big garden and sometimes I do simply mow or use an electric scarifier over the lot. I then simply rake it under the shrubs. (I get too much compost and leaf mould to bother with)